Roasted Chicken with Cider and Creamy Mustard Sauce
Ingredients
- —2 free-range chickens
- —2 onions, roughly chopped
- —3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- —4 sprigs of rosemary
- —2 lemons, cut into pieces
- —4 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
- —2 tablespoons honey
- —450 ml apple cider
- —250 g pancetta
- —250 ml cooking cream
- —Olive oil
- —Butter cubes
- —Salt and pepper
- —Atsina cress
- —Potato gratin
- —Fresh salad
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F).
Roughly chop the onion, lemon, and garlic.
Stuff both chickens with the onion, garlic, lemon, and rosemary.
Mix the mustard, honey, cider, olive oil, salt, and pepper into a marinade.
Rub the chickens with the marinade and some extra olive oil.
Roast for 30 minutes at 175°C (350°F).
Reduce the temperature to 120°C (250°F) and roast for another 60 minutes, placing butter cubes on top of the chickens.
Fry the pancetta until crispy and drain the fat.
Deglaze the pan with cider and let it reduce for 5 minutes.
Add mustard and cooking cream, and let it simmer gently for 5–10 minutes.
Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving into pieces.
Serve on platters with the warm sauce and atsina cress.
Serving Tip
This roasted chicken is the kind of dish that brings warmth to the table: two golden-brown free-range chickens, slowly cooked in cider, mustard, and honey, with crispy pancetta and a creamy pan sauce. Perfect for a big table full of friends or family — rich, festive, and wonderfully relaxed cooking. Serve the chicken on large platters and pour the warm sauce over just before serving for extra shine and flavor.
Storage Tip
Store the chicken and sauce separately; reheat slowly in the oven or on the stovetop.